Oral Cancer Screening

It is estimated that 3,400 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed in Canada every year, and 30,000 in the United States. We believe that the most important part of your visit to Westmount Dental is our Cancer Screening Examination.

Our ultimate focus is to diagnose conditions as early as possible and to recommend treatment that would prevent conditions from becoming worse. This is not limited to detecting tooth decay only.

As an integral component of your oral health regime, our professional team of Dentists and Hygienists assess the skin lining your mouth for potential signs and symptoms of oral cancer.

While it may not be obvious to you that we are performing this assessment, our eyes are constantly scanning and examining the tissues in your mouth for any variations from the norm.

Oral cancer is any abnormal growth and spread of cells in the oral cavity including lips, tongue, hard and soft palate (roof of the mouth), under the tongue, back of the throat, and gums.

Some signs and symptoms include:

Painless sores in the mouth that do not heal within two weeks

Dark red or white patches in the mouth

New lumps or bumps located on the lips, tongue or neck

Early detection of oral cancer can greatly increase the success of treatment and reduce the likelihood that the cancer would spread to other parts of the body.

At Westmount Dental, we routinely perform oral biopsies and submit suspicious tissue samples to the University of Toronto Pathology Department for assessment. Since the turn-around time is short, we can provide you with the information you need to ease your worries or guide you through the next appropriate steps as soon as possible.

If you notice any of these signs and symptoms in your mouth ask us to perform an Oral Cancer Screening.

We hope that you are comforted in the fact of knowing that we are repeatedly examining your mouth even though we may not tell you each and every time we do so.